After the Awakening
by PKBeam
Summary: Continuing from the events of Mother 3, Lucas and his friends struggle to cope in a new, rebirthed world. Not only that, but once strange events start to occur, they're forced into another adventure - so soon after their first...!
1. The Start of a New World

As Lucas grasped the final Needle, he heard an ethereal voice in his mind.  
"Will you put everything on the line, and pull the final Needle?"  
"I don't know about this," thought Lucas. But his hands seemed to move by his own. There was a little resistance, then his hands flowed smoothly upwards.

And when Lucas pulled the seventh and final Needle, the Dark Dragon awoke. Huge cracks formed in the ground. Forests were burning, set alight by flaming meteors from the sky. The world begin to shift as a lump the size of the Nowhere Islands erupted from the face of the planet.  
"Was this really the right thing to do?" thought Lucas. He barely had time to ponder the question before everything turned to black.

A few hours later, Lucas awoke to hear someone groan.  
"...Hello?" he called tentatively.  
"Lucas? That you?"  
"Kuma?!" Lucas reached for Kumatora's hand. He caught it. They pulled together and embraced  
"We survived..." murmured Lucas. Then suddenly, he pushed away from Kumatora.  
"We need to find the others," he said.  
"Yeah. But how are we supposed to see anything in this black haze?"

"I guess... we'll have to wait it out."  
"Hey." Kumatora placed her hand on what she thought was Lucas' shoulder. "It'll be alright."

It was a day and a half before Lucas yawned and sat up. The events leading to the pulling of the seventh Needle tired him greatly. He saw that Kumatora was next to him. Wait. He could see?  
"Kuma! Wake up!" Lucas shook Kumatora awake.  
"Huh?"  
"Wake up, Kuma! We can see again!"  
Kumatora sat up.  
"We need to find some water and something to eat," she declared. "Wait. Where are we anyway?"

They were in a small forest. The trees were well spaced apart. To one direction, you could make out what seemed to be plains.  
"I think the world's been reborn," replied Lucas.  
There was a pause.  
"All the more reason to get going." Lucas nudged her. "C'mon, let's go."

They headed in the direction of the plains. Once there, they spotted a river and quenched their thirst.  
"Let's follow the river," suggested Lucas. "We'd at least have a source of water, and we might be able to go fishing."  
"Fishing? Who needs to fish when you can just..."  
"Uh, Kuma? What are you going to-"  
"PK THUNDER!"  
A small thunderbolt struck the river. After it ended, the dead bodies of many different types of turtles and fish floated to the top.  
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, especially when the world was just reborn," said Lucas.  
"Who cares? We started fresh," countered Kumatora. She placed a fish on a sandy patch on the riverbank. "PK Fire!"  
Flames engulfed the fish.  
But as she went to pick it up, it disintegrated into tiny black grains.  
"Nice going Kuma, you totally burnt it to a crisp," muttered Lucas.  
"Yeah, well, we have plenty. Let's try again. With a more subtle flame."

Not an hour had passed before the pair took pieces of cooked fish from a hot rock. Not even caring about the heat, they started to eat it. The meat was a little undercooked and stringy, but they were glad for something to eat and drink.

Suddenly, the grass rustled. Both Kuma and Lucas exchanged worried glances. Lucas prepared himself to cast defensive PSI to protect them. Kumatora was ready to cast a powerful offensive PSI. The grass rustled some more. Then it barked. Suddenly, a sizeable furry mass leapt towards Lucas. Kumatora had all but cast her PSI, when suddenly she stopped.

It was Boney.

(Hey guys, where were you?!) he barked.  
"Let's catch up over a meal." Lucas held up half a grilled fish. Boney's nose wrinkled in disdain, but food was food, and he ate it gratefully.

After they stuffed themselves with fish, they discussed the events that had occured. Boney was thrown into a river, and he barely managed to avoid being washed away.  
(We should discuss sleeping arrangements,) he suggested after a lapse in the conversation. This caused another moment of silence.

Finally, Lucas spoke up.  
"Do you see that?" He pointed to a small cliff nearby. "We could dig into it with PK Ground."  
"Nice thinkin'," agreed Kumatora. She approached the face of the cliff and put her hands on the cool dirt face. She concentrated hard. PK Ground was not a simple PSI to perform and it was tiring to use.

"PK... Ground...!"

The hard dirt moved magically, out of the cliff face and unceremoniously dumped itself in the river. A sturdy cave remained. By then it was starting to get dark, so they quickly gathered some twigs and leaves to make a campfire and a rudimentary bed. The three huddled together for warmth and awaited the next day.

Boney got up early, as you would expect a dog to. He went for an early morning walk beside the river. He was still disoriented by this sudden unfamiliar environment and he wanted to regain his old confidence. When he returned Lucas and Kumatora were just getting up. They greeted each other.  
"What do we do now?" asked Lucas.  
(Isn't it obvious? We seach for others,) said Boney. He turned his head towards a plateau in the distance. (I bet that will be a good place to start.)  
"Let's go," said Kumatora.

The group almost forgot to take supplies, but they fashioned a makeshift backpack out of Kumatora's jacket and filled it with cooked fish wrapped in some long plant leaves. It would be enough to last them a trip to and from the mountain.  
"What about water?" asked Lucas.  
"We can use PK Freeze," said Kumatora.  
Lucas remembered himself saying that they needed water when they first woke up from their long sleep. He wondered why Kumatora didn't think to use PK Freeze there, but he dismissed the thought.

The long voyage took a whole day. The group had to quickly adapt to this new world. The hike to the mountain was not an easy one. They stopped for their third break when the dirt beneath their feet finally transitioned into stone. Kumatora was about to take out a few fish to eat when she heard Lucas yell, "Watch out!" She whipped around to see a large boar hurtling towards her. She froze in place with fear. There was barely enough time for Lucas to scream, "Shield!" before the boar reached her. Its tusks clashed with the psychic barrier. Kumatora regained her senses and quickly fired off Paralysis to stop the boar, just before the shield broke. Lucas had picked up a sturdy branch and he used it to batter the boar. After a few hits with the branch, the boar suddenly stopped. It calmly trotted into the forest.  
(Well. That's the end of that,) said Boney. After they rested, they resumed their journey, hiking up a slope towards the top of the plateau, vigilant in case another boar showed up. Barely an hour passed before Lucas suddenly stopped at the peak.  
"What's up?" asked Kumatora.  
"We've found them," said Lucas simply.

There was a camp at the peak of the plateau. A lot of people were present. The party ran up to the camp. As they approached, a limping man exited a shabby makeshift shelter. The group froze.  
"Duster!" cried Lucas.  
Duster turned around. He was speechless for a moment. Then he ran over and hugged Lucas and Kumatora.  
(The ol' party's finally back at last,) said Boney.  
"Guys, almost all of us from Tazmily are here," Duster said.  
"Who's missing?" asked Lucas. Duster hesitated, then uttered a list of missing people.  
"Lighter... Nana... Isaac..." He stopped.  
"Duster?" began Kumatora.  
The reply came suddenly and cut Lucas like a knife.  
"Flint."  
Lucas felt a wave of something awful wash over him.

"I'm sorry, Lucas."


	2. Forest Encounter

It was dark. Stars twinkled in the sky. The camp was bright and active. On the outskirts, Lucas sat by a small fire, alone. Kumatora saw the isolated light and decided to walk over to him. She sat down.

"Y'know you can talk to me, right?" she said  
Lucas was silent.  
"He's still out there somewhere."  
"I know," said Lucas slowly. "It just feels like the time I lost my mom."  
Kumatora didn't really know what to say to this.  
"Cheer up. We'll look for him tomorrow. And the others."  
She got up and left. After a little thought, Lucas got up and followed.  
"I might as well get some rest. Today has been a looooong day."

As dawn broke on the plateau village, Lucas woke up in a small shelter. Boney was curled up next to him. Lucas gently patted Boney's head. He wished he could just stay here, in the pile of leaves, and forget about everything. He resigned himself to the fact that this wasn't possible, and he needed to find his dad.

He pulled himself out of his bed and decided to take a walk to get his mind off of all the stress. He passed the village centre, where people were making their small tents into a more substantial house. He was watching them when Fuel came up, tapped him on the shoulder and told him that he was needed back at his tent.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked as her ducked under the small doorway and into the tent.  
"We're organising parties to look for missing people and forage for resources," Duster informed him. Naturally, Lucas volunteered to sign up. Kumatora and Boney followed suit.  
"I have to stay here and organise everything," Duster told them.

It was four days before the first exploration group set out. Along with Lucas, Kumatora and Boney, Nichol, Thomas and Abbot accompanied them. They headed into a denser forest. Lucas recognised some edible plants, so he picked some along the way to bring back. There was no sign of Flint or the others, so they kept trekking until they reached a glade. As they crossed it, the distant figure of Nan ran towards them.  
"Look, it's Nana!" exclaimed Nichol.

They all ran up to greet her, but before they could say a word, she blurted out, "Run!" The group froze and looked over her shoulder. A large animal was chasing her. This animal had the body of a bull, fur like a rabbit and a face like an angry yeti. It was unlike anything they have seen before, unless you count the chimeras they fought in the old world. They all retreated to the forest, but it was coming too fast. Lucas said to Kumatora, "We have to fight it." She nodded agreement.

Along with Boney, they stopped, turned back and ran to confront the monster.  
"Let's go, everyone!" yelled Lucas. "Defense Up!"  
"Offense Down!" called Kumatora. Boney ran at the creature, using his speed to confuse it.  
"Let's do this," said Kumatora. "PK Freeze!"

A bolt of frost arced from her hands to the creature. It had taken damage but the fight was far from over. Lucas cast Offense Up on himself and ran over to it. He swing with a branch, using the rhythm of battle to time his blows. He leapt back just before he was about to be rammed. The foot of the creature caught him in the stomach. He fell back, gasping for breath.  
"Life... up..." he wheezed. Suddenly, the pain lessened and Lucas felt the strength returning to him. The creature was about to go at him again but a quick Brainshock from Kumatora stopped it just long enough for Lucas to regain his composure.  
"Alright," began Lucas. "Refresh!" A warm blue aura surrounded the party.  
"PK Freeze!" yelled Kumatora again. It barely missed. Boney lunged at the monster. He bit the dust at the creature knocked Kumatora to the ground. Then, he lunged again, only to get kicked by a powerful hoof.  
"This is bad," Lucas said to himself. "I have to..."  
Kumatora gasped in pain as she tried to find an opening to use Lifeup.  
"PK FLASH!" A blinding light surrounded the battlefield. The monster was paralyzed.  
"Time for the last blow!" said Lucas. "PK Love!" The intense PSI manifested itself as hexagons which hit the enemy with full force. It fell over, defeated.

Lucas quickly rushed to his companions, cast Lifeup on them both, and collapsed from exhaustion. When he came to, the group was standing over him, watching for signs of conciousness. They were relieved to see that he was well. They congratulated him for saving the group and they headed back, triumphant.

Everyone back at New Tazmily (which was the decided name of the settlement) was glad to see Nana back safe. While they were away, Duster was chosen as temporary mayor. The village celebrated the successful return of the exploration group by holding a banquet. It wasn't much of a banquet, but there was enough food to go around.

Kumatora sat on a log with a chunk of some sort of meat on a stick and went over the day in her head. Lucas soon joined her.  
"Hey, Lucas?" asked Kumatora after a moment of silence.  
"Yeah, Kuma?"  
"Didn't you find that monster... weird?"  
"You mean... unnatural?"  
"Well, yeah." Lucas paused and looked up thoughfully before replying.  
"Yes. It felt wrong." When Kumatora didn't say anything else, Lucas continued.  
"You're saying that someone's behind this."  
"Yes. That's what I think is happening."  
"Well, who could it possibly be?" asked Lucas. "Porky's sealed up in the capsule, all the Pigmasks are gone and the Masked Man..." He stopped, and choked out the last words. "The Masked Man... is dead..."  
Kumatora decided it would be best to end this conversation quickly.  
"I dunno, but we should watch out." She got up and exited quickly, leaving Lucas to ponder this by himself.


	3. New Tazmily Village

Three weeks passed. Lighter and Isaac were found in a nearby small camp. Although people were content, the one thing that brought their spirits down was Flint's abcence. It didn't feel like Tazmily without him. The most affected was undoubtedly Lucas. Over time, he remembered to just forget the pain, just like he did with his mother. To help with the process for forgetting, he went on daily explorations.

New Tazmily grew into a proper village with proper houses. Bronson even started up a forge, but it was hard to find anything to melt down. New Tazmily did away with the economy that Fassad brought and it went back to its roots. All the inhabitants went back to doing what they did in the old world. Leder spent his free time in the central square passing down his knowledge about the White Ship, and the people that came on it. The forest area near the plateau was cut up for resources and to clear land for buildings, and although this made many people uneasy, everyone had learned from their mistakes. They would not let it happen again. Everyone started to adapt. It was finally starting to feel like the old Tazmily.

People settled into a normal rhythm of life. On one afternoon, Lucas and Boney were in the forest foraging for berries. Lucas stretched his hand towards a particularly large berry in a thorny bush. As he reached for it, it fell off its stem and onto a sharp thorn, skewering the bright blue fruit.  
"What?" Lucas said to himself. "I didn't do that."  
(Do what?)  
"Nothing."  
They continued picking in silence.  
(Lucas?)  
"Yeah?"  
(Do you feel that?)  
"Feel what?"  
(It's like... a slight rumble.)  
"I don't feel anything."  
(Oh.)

As Boney finished his sentence, the ground beneath their feet quivered slightly.  
"Now THAT I felt." said Lucas. "I think we should go back to Tazmily." Boney barked in agreement.

They hurried back to Tazmily. Because they didn't want to scare anyone, they kept their story a secret. Lucas was still worried about the rumbling, but they occured very rarely and you could barely feel the quake. He decided to set his mind on other things.

That evening, Lucas was taking a walk by himself. He reached the outskirts of New Tazmily, paused, and turned around. He saw the darkness ripple in the corner of his eye. He slowly turned back around. He saw a man. The man had short black hair and looked to be in his early twenties. His eyes were a strong green colour and he wore dark clothing.  
"Who are you?" Lucas asked warily.  
"That doesn't matter right now," said the man. "I came here to warn you... to bring the thunder."  
"What?"  
Before Lucas could say anything else, he disappeared into the black.  
"He's gone..." Lucas quickly ran back to tell Kumatora and Boney what happened.  
"Well from now on, we should definitely be careful." Kumatora said, upon hearing this news.  
(Hear, hear.)

Lucas slept uneasily in the coming nights. He dreamed of the man, but these dreams seemed to be real. All he heard was the man's last words, "Bring the thunder". He woke up one morning, after another one of these dreams.

"I need to get my mind off this," he thought to himself. "I know. Why don't I go to the Thomas Bazaar?"

The Thomas Bazaar was a place in the centre of New Tazmily where people took any items they needed, and donated any surplus goods. The system worked well because everyone in the village were good hearted, trustworthy people. Lucas found a large wooden branch. It felt smooth and cool to the touch. He took it and put in some wild mushrooms in return. As he walked back to his tent, he passed the agricultural part of the village. Already, wild animals like cows and sheep were being farmed. Wheat and corn were being grown in fields. The people had done well to get this far.

Lucas joined Kumatora and Boney for lunch, which was a serving of mushroom porridge and some herbs. There was also a small piece of wild boar.  
"I wish we had something other than this mushy stuff to eat," said Lucas.  
"Soon enough, we'll have bread and cheese," Kumatora replied.  
(Life may finally get back to what it once was.) sighed Boney, if a dog could sigh at all.

They finished their meal quietly and wandered off to occupy themselves. Kumatora went to the forest to pick some plants. She quite liked it. Soon, she had filled a very large basket with all sorts of edibles. A lot of these plants were similar to the ones found on the Nowhere Islands.

Boney looked around the village. He dug around in the dirt for anything interesting. At first, it was just a bunch of rocks. Then, he uncovered a perfectly formed spherical stone. He picked it up and carried it to the group's tent, where it sat in the corner with all their other belongings. Then, he fell asleep.

Lucas just sat by the lake and watched people fish. Occasionally he would help. When it got dark, he returned to his tent and just fell asleep. Only to be woken an hour later by a very frantic Fuel.  
"What is it..." he murmured groggily.  
"Lucas! It's terrible... come outside!" panted Fuel.  
Lucas slowly woke the others and dragged them outside. What he saw shocked him awake.


	4. A Powerful Foe

A giant monster was seen in the distance, rapidly approaching the village.  
"What?!" said Kumatora. "OK, there's no way this is happening on its own."  
"You're right," agreed Lucas. "But who?"  
(There's no time for this! Whatever that thing is, it doesn't look friendly!) urged Boney.  
"Right," Lucas gathered his thoughts. "We'll have to get rid of it. Just like old times."  
"We'd better go now. It'll take weeks to rebuild the village if that thing destroys any part of it." said Kumatora.

They ran down the plateau as fast as they could. At the base, they got a good look at the creature. It had a humanoid form, its body was covered in thick brown bristly fur and it was twice as tall as Kumatora.  
"Crap." That was Kumatora.  
(No time to think! Let's go!)  
They ran into battle.

"Refresh!" yelled Lucas. He paused briefly to comtemplate his next move. Did this thing use physical attacks or PSI attacks? He got his answer as the giant lifted an arm.  
"Shield! Defense Up!" Kumatora cast Offense Down on the huge foe.  
"PK Freeze!" she called. The searing cold bolt landed a direct hit on the face of the giant, but it didn't seem to cause much damage.

All of a sudden, Lucas remembered the strange man's words. Was he really trustworthy? He had to decide whether or not to follow his advice. As he was deliberating, Boney distracted the monster and Kumatora cast PK Fire at its backside. It left a black burn mark but there was no other visible damage.

"Maybe I can disable it," thought Kumatora. "Brainshock!" Two orange circles converged onto the giant, but to no avail.

The giant lashed out violently and unpredictably at Lucas with a fist. It tore holes in his Shield and it almost hit him. Boney bit its calf and barked loudly to distract it.  
"Right." said Lucas. "Kumatora!"  
"Yeah?!"  
"Shock it!"  
He was about to clarify his message, but then he heard the rumbling sounds of thunder. It struck the giant with full force.

No damage.  
"Damnit!" muttered Lucas. So the man probably lied to him. "Time for me to do something. PK Love!"

Still no damage. Lucas cast PK Love again, then a third time. Nothing seemed to touch it.  
The giant started scoring hits on Kumatora and Boney. Enraged, Lucas sprinted to the giant and thrust at its thigh with his branch.

"Why... won't... this... thing... DIE?!"

He swiped wildly at its leg, unleashing a furious combo attack that would have decimated any normal animal. The giant yelled, but it was more from anger than from pain. It drew back a huge palm, directed at Boney. It was preparing to strike.

"No!" yelled Lucas. "Counter!"

Orange parallel lines formed on Boney. They diverged to cover his entire body, and then they stopped, completing the Counter just before the giant thrust its hand into Boney. A fraction of the power rebounded back to the giant, pushing it back a little. Boney leapt at the giant and buried his canine teeth into its torso.

That was the last straw. The giant spun around rapidly, dislodging Boney from its chest, then it extended its foot in a sweeping kick that knocked over Lucas and Kumatora.

From his prone position, Lucas heard their cries of pain. He wished desperately to be able to help them. He was almost depleted. He struggled to a standing position. He tried to think of a way to penetrate whatever defences this thing had. Then he remembered a special offensive PSI.  
"Here goes nothing," he said to himself. "PK Flash!" The swift green burst of light made the creature stumble. It was the first thing that seemed to hurt it.

"Wait," thought Lucas. He called out again to Kumatora. "Use PK Thunder again! I've got a good feeling about this!"  
He heard the familiar cry of "PK Thunder!". This time, the humanoid stumbled more violently before rebalancing itself.  
"Hey!" Kumatora called. "This thing's weakened!"

His hope restored, Lucas cast a high level Lifeup PSI to heal the whole party.  
(Lucas! Use PK Flash again, and this time, we go all in!) barked Boney.  
"Right!" Lucas gathered his reserves of power. "PK... PK... FLASH! Now, guys! Offense Up!"

Kumatora cried, "PK Ground!" The earth shook violently.  
Lucas lunged for the giant's knee joint with his wooden branch. Boney slammed into the other one. The combined effort was barely enough to topple it.

(Kuma! All yours!)  
"Take my power, Kuma!" said Lucas. He cast Lifeup on Kumatora.  
"PSI Magnet!" Kumatora drained the last of Lucas' power. He collapsed to the ground, kneeling.  
She paused for a moment, taking every last bit of psychic power she had.

"PK... Starstooooorm!"

The sky opened up. From the heavens, fiery meteorites fell upon the battlefield. Meteor after meteor after meteor smashed into the thick skin of the monster. Kumatora maintained her focus until she could hold it no longer, then released it as a final flaming red star flew down and tore a hole into the body, exploding violently upon impact and releasing its energy into the atmosphere.

Kumatora passed out before she even saw the last blow. Boney ran over and tried to wake her. Lucas had regained a little bit of strength and he limped over to Kumatora and cast a Healing spell just strong enough for Kumatora to be able to stand up. By this time, Duster arrived at the scene with a group of villagers.

"What happened?!" he asked. He was about to shoot off multiple questions, then stopped, realising how tired they were. "Never mind." He called to Abbott and Isaac. "Take them to the village. They need rest."

Abbott and Isaac helped Lucas and Kumatora to the village. Boney was slightly better off, and was able to slowly walk towards the village. When they finally arrived, Lucas fell down face first onto his wooden bed. He didn't quite remember if his eyes closed before he actually fell asleep.

In his dreams, he heard the voice of the strange man: "Well done." But Lucas strangely remembered every detail of the dream. It seemed almost real.


	5. Preparing for a Journey

"So... he appeared to you... in a dream?" asked Kumatora skeptically.  
"I'm telling you, he was there, it was like it physically happened." Lucas told her.  
(Um, Lucas, you should get some rest.)  
"What about when I saw him in New Tazmily?"  
"Lucas," interrupted Kumatora. "Just get some rest, and if it happens again tonight we'll talk about this tomorrow morning."  
"Fine."

Lucas exited the tent. He was feeling frustrated, and a casual stroll would help alleviate that feeling. Plus, he might see the man again. He walked into the Thomas Bazaar and a gleaming pin caught his eye. He examined it closely. It was in fact, his old Franklin Badge. When he arrived at New Tazmily, he remembered it was stuffed in his pocket. He threw it onto the dirt path because it reminded him of Claus. Now, he had calmed down a bit. He pocketed it, realising the potential use for its ability to protect the wearer from electricity in all forms. There was also a tattered yellow ribbon. He took it. He looked around for anything else, but there was nothing of value to him.

He left the Bazaar and went back to his tent, feeling a lot better than half an hour ago. Kumatora wasn't there. It was just Boney.  
"Hey, boy. Where's Kuma?"  
(I don't know. I'm not her babysitter.)  
Lucas nodded. She was possibly telling Duster what happened. He remembered the ribbon in his pocket. He took it out and tied it loosely around Boney's neck.  
"Hey, you look pretty cool in that."  
(Do I?)  
"Yeah. Really."

They sat down on a bed (which was still just a pile of leaves) and they struck up a conversation.  
"Remember when we fought the Barrier Trio?"  
(Yeah. We were lucky that you learned PSI Shield in time. Hey, how about that weird thing at the bottom of the sea? When it made a whirlpool, I though we were done for!)  
"I know, we had to eat those funky mushrooms, and then we started hallucinating!"  
(You guys walked into a sludge pit, and you thought it was a hot spring!)  
They laughed. It felt nice to talk about the past.  
(Hey Lucas. Remember before all this happened?)  
"Yeah. Claus, Mom and I were visiting our grandfather's shack. We played with the Dragos on the day th..." He stopped. It was still too early to go there.  
(I remember when I was a pup, and I first met you.)  
"That was when I found out that I could speak to animals."

They continued to recap their adventure across the Nowhere Islands. Two hours later, Kumatora joined them. It was late afternoon when the three had finally run out of things to say. They went outside to watch the sunset.  
(Hey, is it me or is something different about the sunsets now?)  
"Yeah," agreed Kumatora. "It's like, I can't explain it, but something's changed."  
As she said this, the ground started to rumble ever so slightly. Kumatora didn't notice, but Boney pawed the ground uncomfortably and Lucas saw his movement. Neither one of them said anything.

That night, Lucas tried to fall asleep faster. He was anxious to see the strange man again. And it wasn't long before he started dreaming. He felt the odd sense of reality. Like he was actually there. But he couldn't move or speak. At first he heard, then saw the man. His voice, when he spoke, seemed to echo in Lucas' mind.

"I have the answers you need. Come to me, in the village of Saturn. It is due north of your town, four days' walk. Take two days to prepare for a very long trip, but do not waste a moment. The world is at unrest, and your powers are called upon one last time."

Lucas yearned to know more, to ask questions, but his dream slowly faded to black and his eyes fluttered open. He lay there for a second, then suddenly he sat up. He had to tell the others. He got up and went to wake Boney, but the dog was already up and about. So was Kumatora.

"Lucas, I believe you now," she said.  
(So do I.)  
"Wait," interrupted Lucas. "Why?"  
(We had the same dream,) finished Boney. (Well, I assume you had it, right?)  
Lucas nodded. There was a silence as the trio thought about their next move.  
(Are we going to go?) Boney asked. There was no need to ask. They all knew what this meant. The three had stuck together through the events before. Of course they would do it again.

As they headed for the door, Duster suddenly blocked their way.  
"Hey guys. I had a weird dream."  
"Really?" asked Lucas, raising an eyebrow. "So did we."  
"I guess there's no need to say anything else. So, what's the plan?"  
"We were just getting to that," Kumatora told him. "Lucas?"  
"Okay... here's what we're going to do. Kuma, gather supplies. Food, water, packs, something to start a fire with, all that stuff. Boney, go with her and drop off what you find back here. Duster, you have to tell everyone else what's going on. Get some information, if you can. As for me, I'll do the packing. One day of prepping and the other for rest."

They split up. Kumatora and Boney went to the Thomas Bazaar.  
"Alright boy, look and maybe sniff around for something useful."  
(Will do.)  
Kumatora approached Thomas.  
"Hey, do ya happen to have a, um, compass?"  
"Actually, I do." He handed her a bunch of sticks.  
She looked at the bundle, then to Thomas. She frowned and her eyes narrowed.  
"Is this some kind of joke?"  
"Let me explain first," said Thomas.

Duster hurried to Lighter and Fuel's tent. He told Lighter about the current situation and asked him to be mayor while he was away. Then, he visited a few villagers and told them to spread the word about what is happening. Afterwards, he went back to his own shelter, gathered the seven Thief Tools and placed them neatly on a table.

"Four weeks and already I've forgotten how to use these," he said, picking up the Wall Staples. I'll have to ask Wess to retrain me.

Meanwhile, Lucas was sitting on his bed with four leather backpacks, dropped off by Boney. Inside contained some strips of dried fish (which was becoming a very common food item here), dried fruit, a few loaves of bread, some leather waterskins, a long length of rope made out of tough vines, a few wooden bowls and a bundle of sticks.

"What?" muttered Lucas. He didn't know how useful a pile of sticks would be. Maybe as melee weapons or projectiles, but they would be ineffective. He figured that they were there for a reason, and he packed them in Kumatora's bag.

With most of the packing done, Lucas lay down on his bed, wondering what the man would have to say to him. He had just finished his first adventure, and now he would have to embark on a second. Although he was unsure at times, during his adventure on the Nowhere Islands, it seemed that he would at least know what to do here. He sighed, and reached for a pile of equipment.


	6. The Day of Rest

On the next day, it began to rain. It was a light shower. Tiny droplets fell onto the ground and the roofs of the village. It was still a warm day, however. Boney ran outside. He enjoyed the rain and a bit of mud wasn't a problem for him. He looked around. There were still a lot of people outside. They didn't mind the weather either.

Kumatora was indoors. She didn't like the rain very much, so she was sitting on her bed whittling a piece of wood. Lucas walked in.  
"Aren't you going to come outside?" he asked.  
"Nah."  
"Well... have you seen Duster? I've been looking for him all day."  
"He's training with Wess."  
"Oh. Well, see you later." Lucas walked out.

Kumatora paused, and then continued carving the wood into the shape of a cow. She was pretty good at it and it gave her something to do.

Duster, taking a break from training, was climbing up a tree with wall staples. He reached the top, stood up cautiously and surveyed the horizon. The clouds around New Tazmily were light gray. A little north of the village, it was clear weather. However, far east of the village, there were dark clouds.

"This place is weird," Duster muttered to himself. He climbed back down the tree, removing the staples for later use.

Boney was running on the dirt roads of the village when he saw Duster coming down.  
(Hey! Duster!)  
Duster looked over his shoulder. He saw Boney.  
"Hey, Boney. Just getting some practice."  
(Well, good luck, we're gonna need that practice tomorrow.) Boney barked a goodbye and ran off.  
Duster walked back to Wess' house.

The rain died down in the afternoon. It became cool and windy. As evening approached, it was still a little warm. Dinner was a different from normal. The party agreed on a special treat, since it was their last day in New Tazmily before they set out. A large wooden plate of grilled beef accompanied a bowl of wild, leafy green salad. There was some oddly shaped fruit with soft, yellow flesh. A few small bread rolls were there, with mugs of fresh river water. The chairs were stumps of wood with the bark peeled off and the table was a roughly cut plank of wood placed on top of four taller stumps arranged in a square shape. They had to be careful not to accidentally kick out the stumps and spill all the food.

As the sky became black, Lucas, Kumatora, Duster and Boney sat down to enjoy their last meal at New Tazmily. Boney simply ate a piece of beef out of a wooden bowl. Dogs didn't need vegetables. The others ate the juicy grilled beef with bites of salad in between. There wasn't any cutlery so they had to eat with their hands. Kumatora broke open a bread roll. The inside was a green colour.  
"Are you sure this is... edible?" she asked.  
"What?" said Lucas. "Oh, that. That's bread made from grass seeds. We had those all the time back then. They're fine."

Kumatora tentatively tore off a small piece and placed it in her mouth. She chewed it carefully, expecting  
a sudden bitter taste.  
"It's..." she swallowed. "It's actually not that bad."  
"Told you," said Lucas. He picked up half a dinner roll and used it to wipe the juice of the meat from the bowl. He popped it into his mouth. He became aware of the odd looks that Duster and Kumatora were giving him.  
"What?" he asked.  
"I never ate like that when I was a boy," Duster said to himself.  
"It's not that bad," Lucas told them.  
"Yes it is," replied Kumatora. "The Magypsies taught me to eat properly."  
"What, with your hands?"  
"Well, do you see any forks here?!"

Boney pushed his face into his bowl, clearly not wishing to get involved. Lucas opened his mouth to retort, then he remembered what happened during his time in Club Titiboo.

He had climbed out of a stenchy cave filled with slugs to sneak in to Kumatora's (she was in disguise as Violet) room. She had asked him to take a shower. He politely refused multiple times. Then she asked Boney, and when he declined as well, they both heard,

"JUST TAKE A GODDAMN SHOWER ALREADY!"

He wisely said nothing, and went back to eating. Kumatora and Duster grinned. Dessert was just the yellow fruit they got earlier. It was almost as large as a watermelon.  
"Oh, I remember these things! We used to eat them all the time," said Duster.  
He tore off a piece of skin. Inside, the fruit resembled a giant pomegranate. Between the inedible yellow parts, were many small orange balls that were edible and had a seed inside them. They were about as big as a thumb. Duster plucked one from the fruit, ate it and spat out the seed into an empty bowl. The others followed him. The small orange bits had a rubbery texture, but were sweet and left a tangy taste in your mouth.  
(It's weird,) mused Boney. (It's like a fruit, and there's lots of smaller fruit inside it.)  
Being a dog, he generally didn't eat fruit, but he tried one bite.

When they finished their food, they sat down to discuss tomorrow's plan.  
"Lucas, you finished packing?" asked Duster.  
"Yep."  
"We got all the things we need, right?" Lucas asked Kumatora and Boney.  
"Yeah."  
(Uh-huh. So when are we leaving?)  
"I think we should leave at dawn," suggested Duster. "We do need to get there quickly."  
"And Kumatora... you know how to find north?" said Lucas.  
"Sure. As long as you brought those sticks."  
"...Yeah... I did. Well, everything's good to go then. Let's meet outside here tomorrow at sunrise. Until then, we should get some sleep."

Lucas got into bed, wrapped himself in a small blanket made of animal furs and leather and awaited the crawling darkness of sleep. In his vivid dreams, he saw the man. He seemed to look stronger than before.

"Tomorrow, you must set out."


	7. Commencing Their Travel

It was dawn and the edge of the sun peeked out of the horizon. Duster woke up. It was still a little dark. He dragged himself into the streets of New Tazmily and over to Lucas' house. Although it was the arranged meeting time, Duster was the only one there. He sighed and looked inside. All three of them were asleep.  
"Wake UP!" said Duster, walking inside. He nudged Boney with a shoe and poked the other two awake. Once they recovered from their groggy states, the three and Duster went outside.  
"Alright, let's go," Lucas said.

They were, at last, ready to leave for Saturn Village. As they climbed down the plateau of New Tazmily, they all stopped. The four were thinking the same thing.  
"Which way is north?" asked Duster.  
"Thatta way." Kumatora pointed to some vast plains which lead into a jungle. "I checked yesterday."  
(Well, no point delaying, let's go.)

The plains were covered with long grass that was chest height to Lucas. They pushed their way through the grass, Boney following in their footsteps. Some tiny imps gnawed at their knees, but a well placed PK Freeze and a swift kick from Duster convinced them that attacking the party was a bad idea. After almost two hours of walking, the tall grass spontaneously gave way to a large flower field. And not just any flowers.  
"Sunflowers." Lucas slowly walked over to one and examined its yellow petals. "Mum used to like these."  
He quietly sat down in the field, clearly wishing to stay here for a bit.  
"We should take a break anyway," said Duster.  
"I'm starving," exclaimed Kumatora. "Let's have breakfast."

They packed some beef from last night, which was still warm. The group knew the importance of a good breakfast. Althought Lucas didn't show any signs of hunger. He delicately held the petals of the sunflower with two hands. He sensed Boney beside him.  
(Are you thinking about it?)  
"Yeah."

They were referring to the time when Lucas and Boney had fallen off a Pigmask aircraft. They landed in a mysterious floating island filled with sunflowers. The ghost of Hinawa led them to jump off the island, where they landed safely in a haystack. Lucas stood on his tiptoes and surveyed the field. There were sunflowers everywhere. He turned back and did a double take. He could've sworn he saw Hinawa, smiling proudly at him. He shrugged it off and decided to go back for something to eat. Before leaving, Lucas said goodbye to the plants and stripped a tall sunflower of its seeds. He put them in his pack.

The sunflowers gradually faded away, leaving the group in a plain landscape. The short grass was a healthy green colour, except for the occasional patch of yellow. Further ahead, the ground rose up and transformed into a vast jungle.  
"Is that where we're headed?" asked Duster.  
"Yep." Came the reply from Kumatora.  
(How long have we been going?) asked Boney.  
Duster looked at the sky. It was still blue, with no hint of red or orange.  
"Probably about five or six hours."  
"Let's have a rest when we get to the jungle," suggested Lucas.  
"That sounds like a good idea," agreed Kumatora.

They continued to walk across the meadow. The serene winds blowing the scent of wild flowers was calming. A wild rabbit emerged from a patch of grass. It stood up on its feet, sniffed the air and caught the scent of Lucas and his friends. It froze, stock still, twitching its whiskers. Without warning, it bolted away from them.  
"Funny little guy," commented Kumatora.  
(Can't blame him.)

As they continued walking, they saw a large kangaroo bounce along the grass. In fact, it was twice the height of Duster and had clubs for hands and sharp teeth. They decided to steer clear of it. Another hour of walking and they had reached the edge of the jungle. Lush deep green leaves dwarfed the party. Tall trees reached up into the clouds. Vines draped down and dangled in the air. Moss covered the floor, rocks and trunks. The jungle was warm and humid.  
"Okay, let's stop here for something to eat," announced Lucas.  
"Which is...?" Kumatora prompted him.  
"Dried fish and bread."  
"Delicious," said Kumatora dryly. "Is the bread that green stuff?"  
"You mean the grass bread," corrected Lucas.  
"Yeah, that. I thought you liked it?"  
Meanwhile, Duster retrieved a small package from his pack. He unwrapped it to reveal lunch.  
Boney sniffed around the jungle floor. He pawed at the carpet of decaying leaf matter.

After their brief lunch break, they explored the forest. Boney noticed something small falling on his nose. He looked up. A droplet hit his eye. The sky, which was a bright blue just minutes ago, had transformed into a dark gloomy storm.  
(Guys... it's raining.)  
As if on cue, a tempest of heavy raindrops smashed into the canopy and tore holes in the foilage.  
"Ow!" yelled Kumatora.  
Thinking quickly, Duster ripped three large, thick leaves from a short plant and handed them to the others to use as an umbrella. Boney huddled under Lucas' leaf.  
"What the heck?" said Lucas. "Where did this rain come from?"  
"We'd better look for shelter," said Duster.  
"No, we have to make this journey in four days," Lucas protested. "He said four days, what'll happen if we get there late? We have to press on."

The others reluctantly agreed. Before resuming their hike, Kumatora recognised an edible berry plant. She relieved it of its fruit and put it in her pack to give their next meals some variety. As the group walked on, the combination of rain with the warm and humid weather started to make its mark. Their shirts became sweaty and uncomfortable. After what seemed to be an eternity, the rain finally faded away as the group stepped into a small gap in the jungle. The ground was rocky and a huge rapidly flowing river snaked across the ground and divided the jungle in two. It was very wide and would be impossible to swim across or jump over.

"Now, I bet that leads to a waterfall," guessed Kumatora.


	8. The Mountain Range

The river was flowing strongly. A small rock in the river caused the water to split in white froth.  
"How do we get across this?" wondered Lucas.  
"What about a bridge made from PK Freeze?" Duster suggested.  
"No," said Kumatora, chewing her lip. "It wouldn't be strong enough."  
(What if we walk along it and look for a natural way to cross it?)  
"Good enough," agreed Lucas.

The party continued east along the riverbank, looking for something that could get them across. Lucas had a flash of inspiration when looking at a large tree. If he could find a way to cut it down, it could make a bridge. He was about to voice the thought when they suddenly found a rock formation that bridged across the river.  
"Oh. Never mind," he thought to himself.  
When on the other side of the jungle, Lucas realised something.  
"Wait, which way is north?" he said.  
"Uh..." said Kumatora.  
"Wait," interjected Duster. "Are we lost?"  
"No. I have a compass," Kumatora replied.

She fished around in her pack and took out a bundle of sticks. Lucas raised an eyebrow.  
"What is that?" he asked.  
"I told you. A compass."  
She then showed them how to use it. Kumatora placed a stick in the ground. The long shadow was clearly visible. She placed another stick at the end of the shadow.  
"Now we wait fifteen minutes."

After fifteen minutes, she placed a third stick at the edge of the new shadow. She traced a line joining the second and third stick.  
"This direction on the line," she said, pointing to the third stick, "Is east. The other side is west. So, that way's north."  
"O-kay," said Lucas.

The northern half of the jungle appeared to be slightly different from the southern half. There was something in the way that the plants and animals were that made it seem so. The muddy ground dirtied the party's shoes and they were grateful when they reached a gentler stream of water to wash their shoes in.

After two more hours of tiring walking, Lucas and company reached the edge of the jungle. Bursting into a hilly landscape, they looked back at the green mass and bade it farewell. Retroactively, the group decided to name the jungle the Murasaki Jungle, after a forest in the previous world.

The sky was lined with stripes of orange now. It was late afternoon, and sunset approached. Duster suggested that they camp on the peak of a hill. The others, wanting a proper rest, agreed quickly. Upon reaching the top of the tallest hill, they realised that tomato plants were scattered throughout the grass. Most of them were flowering, but there were a few dots of bright red and the rest were green and unripe.

Kumatora was about to cast PK Fire at a pile of kindling, then looking at the grass around them, thought better of it and rumaged through the packs for the flint and steel. Soon the crackling sound of warm flames was heard. It was quite dark now.  
"Kuma!" Lucas tossed a pack of food at her. She caught it with two hands and looked inside - dried fish and some vegetables.  
"I think we could make soup," commented Lucas.  
"Soup?" asked Kumatora.  
"Yeah. I have a soup bowl in my pack. I'll go get it." He returned quickly with a thick stone bowl.  
He suspended the bowl on a piece of thick vine over the fire. Kumatora cast PK Freeze in the bowl for water to melt. Then they added ingredients.

Meanwhile, Duster and Boney were foraging for edible greenery. There was mostly nothing, except for some exotic herbs. Lucas came over to them after half an hour.  
"Guys, dinner's ready."

After eating, they wrapped themselves in leather blankets and tried to get as much sleep as they could.

As the morning sun rose up, the group were already preparing to leave. Kumatora checked the direction of north.  
"So, which way?" asked Lucas over her shoulder.  
"There." She pointed to a large valley with a tall mountain range in the background.  
(That's a tough climb...)  
"Well there's no point delaying it," reasoned Duster. "Let's go. We'll eat our morning meal on the way."

On the second day of their trip, monsters started to appear more. During their descent from the valley, small green wolves leapt from the grass and attacked their legs. What they lacked in size, they made up for in ferocity and sheer power. Kumatora deterred them with a small Brainshock spell. Eagles the size of small trees nested on top of adjacent hills. While they weren't really much of a threat, Lucas and the others decided to stay well out of the way.

The depths of the valley housed a small lake. As they reached it, the sun was at its peak.  
"Alright," said Lucas. "Break time."  
With relieved sighs, they dumped their packs on the grassy ground and went to dip their feet in the clear water of the lake. Duster retrieved a few food packs and handed them out to everyone else. Lucas also remembered to refill their waterskins.

They travelled faster after noon. Seven wolf attacks later and another three hours left them at the base of the rocky mountain range. The face of the mountain had many large ledges sticking out, but while the top half was a little more lenient in space to climb, the bottom half was steep and unforgiving.  
The travellers stared at the mountain for a good few minutes before Kumatora spoke up.  
"Okay. Problem solving time. How do we get up this thing?"  
No responses. After another few minutes of contemplation, Duster suddenly spoke up.  
"Wait, I can use wall staples to climb this."

Without waiting for a response, he fished in his pack and pulled out a handful of oversized staples. He slid his hand aross the mountain face, looking for the right spot. His hands stopped when he reached a vein of less dense rock.

"Alright... concentrate," he thought to himself. He grasped staples in both hands and rammed them into the mountain face rythmically. He stopped once he ran out of staples, which was a few metres above a ledge in the face. Lowering himself onto the ledge, he called down to the others.  
"Alright, come up, but be careful!"

They slowly ascended the ladder, Boney wrapping his paws around Lucas' shoulders as he could not climb. The staples held fast. They all ended up on the ledge, where Duster pulled out more staples. He continued this process from ledge to ledge until they reached the upper half of the ranges, where they could continue to climb with feet, hands and paws, but not before taking a long rest, as the relentless climbing had figuratively destroyed their legs.

The peak of the mountain ranges gave an excellent view of the area. Even in the waning sunlight, they could see the edge of the jungle they came out of. In the other direction, past the thick mountain range, was sand. While Kumatora, Duster and Boney were admiring the view, Lucas came up to them.  
"Hey guys," he said. "I found a cave we can camp in for the night."  
Lucas led them to the aforementioned cave. They slowly walked in, laid down leather blankets and sat down with sighs of relief. A quick evening meal of some dried meats and fruits and they fell asleep quickly. The second day had passed much faster than the first.


	9. On the Other Side

"Lucas... Kumatora... Duster... and Boney... You have done well to get this far. I await our meeting in the village of Saturn."

Lucas slowly drifted awake. He looked around and the others' faces confirmed that they had this same dream. They were getting closer and closer to the Saturn village. After an improvised breakfast, they left their little cave and headed north.

The jagged, uneven mountain terrain was not an easy thing to cross. They got small scratches and cuts on their legs from rocks. The stones beneath poked at their shoes. Duster thought that he felt the mountain rumble slightly. After more walking, they finally reached the other side.

After crossing the mountain range, the descent of the mountain was much easier than the ascent as the mountain gently sloped down and merged into what they now saw was a desert. Duster went ahead and jogged down the rocky slope towards the orange sand. Boney saw the face of the mountain start to shift. A humanoid shape emerged from the rock.  
(Duster! LOOK OUT!)  
Duster turned around quickly and saw the rock monster in the corner of his eye. He jumped back and where his feet were, a large dent appeared a second later.

The rock monster was a little taller than the party. It had a smooth body, but a blank face. It said nothing and they could hear nothing. Lucas was staring at it, wondering what exactly this thing was and almost got hit by its next attack. He leapt out of the way.  
Duster threw a smoke bomb at the monster to distract it. The small black ball burst into clouds of grey smoke.  
"What're you doing, Lucas?!" yelled Duster.  
"Sorry." Lucas apologised. He shook his head and called "PK Flash!"  
A familiar blinding flash of green light. The monster crumbled away into small pebbles.  
"Lucky shot..." commented Kumatora. She watched the pebbles slowly turn into sand and blow away with the next gentle gust.

The mountain gradually softened into a dry, grassy landscape. There were a few pine trees among the dry green grass. Wild flowers were spread among the ground. A forest was to their right. At its edge, Lucas recognised the leaves of wild potatoes and onions and beckoned the others over to dig them up, being careful to toss away the green, poisonous tubers. Dirt covered potatoes and onions were stuffed into their packs, with some wild herbs.  
"How do we eat these?" said Kumatora. Being raised by the Magypsies, she was still unfamiliar with some things. She examined a small yellow potato under the light of the sun, squeezing it and poking it.  
"Easy. Just cook them," Duster explained.

The grass and dirt then eventually gave way to soft orange sand. The group looked up. They had reached the desert. After just fifteen minutes of walking, it was uncomfortably warm and the sand tended to seep inside your shoes. Lucas thought that they would be glad to get out of this. Aside from the small lumps of spinifex and the occasional cactus, the desert was bare. There were a few sand dunes. Small sand snakes slithered sideways along the slopes, but Lucas knew that these wouldn't attack them unless provoked.

The previous days were nothing compared to the dull surroundings, heat and the relentless walking. Their feet became sweaty from walking on hot sand. For every hour they travelled, they had to take a ten minute break. Their water supply also became warm and it was frequently used. (I hate the desert,) Boney whined. The others were too tired to say anything.

The group also had to recheck north multiple times because of the barren landscape. As a result, they lost even more time. It was afternoon before they even got halfway through the desert. Their waterskins ran out but Kumatora used PK Freeze to provide an ice cold drink. As the afternoon sun faded away, they reached a long patch of rocky ground.  
"We should camp here," said Lucas.  
"But we can make up all the time we lost if we just keep going until night," Kumatora replied.  
"He's right," Duster interjected. "This is the best camping spot we've seen for ages."  
Kumatora reluctantly dropped her argument.

From their packs, Lucas retrieved what they had gathered today. Kumatora cast PK Freeze to wash the vegetables off. Then the potatoes were boiled in their jackets until they were hot and fluffy. Chopped onions accompanied dry fish strips. Lucas enjoyed the smell wafting from the fire. They had really deserved this meal.

That starry night, Lucas lay down on his back on a piece of leather. He turned his head sideways. Kumatora was to his right and Boney to his left.  
He heard Kumatora's voice. "You awake?"  
"Yeah."  
"Tomorrow's the last day."  
He said nothing.  
"We'll get answers when we reach the village."  
"Yeah. But it won't be over, right?"  
"I dunno. Maybe."  
Boney stirred at this point. Lucas glanced at him.  
"Night, Kuma."  
"Night, Lucas.  
He went to sleep.

The black darkness of sleep in his mind twisted to form a figure. His voice echoed.  
"The four days of your journey will soon come to an end."  
Lucas opened his eyes. Another dream. But this time...  
"Huh...?"  
This time he could speak.  
"You will have to be careful tomorrow."  
"What?" he said. "Wait, can the others see this?"  
"No." The man said. "Just you and me."  
"What do you mean, I have to be careful?"  
"I mean exactly what I said. Be careful."  
"Wait, who are you anyway? What are you doing here and h-"  
The man cut him off.  
"I will tell you everything when you arrive. Try hard tomorrow to make up your lost time. But for now... goodbye."


	10. The Village at Last!

On the fourth and final day, Lucas, Duster, Kumatora and Boney aimed to finally cross the desert. It was a little past noon when Boney spoke up.  
(Hey, is it me or is the sand lighter?)  
Kumatora looked down at her feet.  
"Actually, yeah. It's yellow now."  
"Hey!" exclaimed Duster. "This means we're in the semi desert!"  
(Semi what?)  
"The semi desert. It's what you call it when the desert is starting to fade away into something else. We're almost out of it."

Invigorated by this new information, the group increased their pace. Suddenly, a rumble shook the ground.  
"Just as well," said Lucas. "We have to find out what's causing these."  
"Yeah, we've had dozens of these," Kumatora agreed.  
Boney, who was ahead, stopped walking.  
"What is it, boy?" asked Lucas.  
Boney's response was cut off by the sand erupting in front of them.

A massive antlion emerged from the grains of sand. It had tough plates of armour on its body and large, sharp pincers. It roared.  
"What the-?!" yelled Lucas.

"It's super mad! We probably invaded its territory or something!" Kumatora told the others.  
The antlion shot a stream of mud at them. Boney was hit and he was blown down by the force.  
(Owwww!)  
It went for another shot.  
"PSI Counter!"  
Lucas was just in time.  
The mud shot was reflected back at the antlion. It scored a direct hit on its face, blinding the creature  
temporarily. Lucas cast more PSI.  
"Defense Up! Shield!"  
"PK Fire!"  
Kumatora cast a flaming line of fire towards the creature. The flames hardened the mud around the face of the antlion.  
"Right!" said Duster. He sprinted up to it and landed a powerful diving kick on the head. It pierced through the mud and connected with the antlion, emitting a sickening crunch.  
Then, with a weak screech, the antlion disappeared into the sand.  
"Wow. I didn't expect that," Kumatora said.  
"Me neither," Lucas replied.

The sand exploded underneath Lucas. He was flung high into the air by the enraged antlion.  
"Aaagh!" he screamed. He hit the sand hard.  
"Lifeup!" yelled Kumatora.  
Lucas felt a little better. He took his stick and casting Offense Up on himself, slammed his stick into the antlion. Boney bit at its armour. Duster kept a constant barrage of kicks. Kumatora cast PK Freeze at the monster.

Then, weakened. the creature disappeared again.  
"Be careful," Lucas warned.  
"Oh no you don't," muttered Kumatora. Raising her voice, she yelled, "PK Ground!"  
The earth shook for a few seconds, then the body of the antlion popped out of the ground. It landed with its stomach exposed.

"Now, everyone!" Lucas called.  
They attacked the antlion together. It shrieked in pain as its soft tummy was hit again and again.  
"Guys, let me handle this," said Kumatora.  
They backed off, Boney landing one final bite.  
She calmed herself and focused her PSI.  
"PK THUNDER!"  
From the clouds, a strong thunderbolt zipped down and struck the monster. Burnt to a crisp, it sunk into the sand. As the adrenalin faded away, their bodies began to catch up with their brains. The group realised how tired they were and panted with exhaustion.  
"Let's... get going..." Duster said. He paused, and added, "After a... break."

It was early afternoon when they reached the end of the desert. They was hot and sweaty from the fight. The yellow sand became a deep green.  
"Huh, finally out of the desert," Duster commented.  
(I'm glad for that.)  
"We must be nearly there," Lucas reasoned..  
They continued to walk. The light forest they walked into turned into a meadow without warning. Lucas gasped. A group of houses were scattered along the meadow. They had reached the Saturns' village.  
"Well, we made it, but..." started Kumatora.  
Their gaze panned across the village.  
"Where's that guy?" finished Lucas.  
(Hey, do you think this place has a hot spring?) Boney interrupted.  
"Well if we look, we might find one... here!" Lucas pointed to steam coming from the centre of the village.  
(Wait, shouldn't we ask before...) Boney started.  
Too late. The others had already run over and slipped into the hot water.

"Ahhhh..." sighed Lucas.  
The hot spring worked wonders on their sore muscles. They were relaxing in the water.  
"Who you, boing?"  
A Mr. Saturn walked over to the hot spring.  
"Oh!" Lucas said. "We're... um... travellers."  
"Wait, I remember!" said the Mr. Saturn. "You went into fire mountain!"  
"Y-yeah." Lucas was taken aback by the statement. "Yeah, that was me."  
"What you doing here?! Zoom!"  
"We're looking for a man," Kumatora told the Mr. Saturn. "He's... he's, uh, tall, with dark hair, and-"

"There's no need for that. I'm here."  
They looked past the Mr. Saturn and found the man studying them with a calm and knowing look.  
"I've been waiting for you. It's good that you were able to stick to your schedule. When you're ready, get yourselves dried off and follow me."  
He walked away into a house. The door closed shut behind him.

There was a moment of silence.  
"Well, should we go now or...?" Lucas asked the others.  
"Nah. He said 'When you're ready'," Kumatora responded. "And we deserve this, anyway."  
After a half hour soaking in the hot spring, the group dried themselves on towels the Mr. Saturns provided, said thanks and went into the small house.

The man was standing, waiting for them.  
"Have a seat. I'll explain everything that's happened, and then you may ask questions."  
They obligingly sat down on wooden chairs. Boney sat on the floor.  
"Now..."


End file.
